Beyond Generations - An Age Flip story
by Falcon's Jade
Summary: Where the 104th cadets are veterans and the senior scouting members are recruits. Undercover Levi isn't happy when his target Erwin Smith intends to join the Scouts, headed by the ruthless Commander Armin Arlet. When Armin's plans get him arrested, Nile investigates Scout leaders Mikasa and Reiner, Bertolt's loyalty is tested, and a dark!Marco returns for Jean


_For the SNK Kink meme, the 104th trainees are the senior Scouting officers and the senior scouting officers are the new recruits. _

_Featuring everyone in the Scouting Legion including the Shiganshina trio, the 104th trainees, Levi's squad, and all squad leaders, along with Military Police characters like Nile, Marlowe, Hitch, Boris, and even Dennis. There's also Annie in her titan form and a dark!Marco (Darco?), just as a reason Jean isn't commander and to show Armin's manipulative side._

_Pairings include implied Armin/Annie, Boris/Annie (he had a crush!), and definitely Marco/Jean. I'll probably throw in Reiner/Bertolt andYmir/Christa later._

"Have you heard? Erwin's apparently going for Scouting Legion."

"That spoiled jerk isn't joining the military police?"

"Nile's been trying to convince him otherwise, but everyone knows its hopeless, if anything Erwin's just going to be more convinced to go now."

"What about his parents? Won't they be upset?"

"I heard that they wouldn't care, I mean, there has to be a reason why someone from such a prestigious family would send their son to the military…"

Everywhere in the training camp, the people were talking about Erwin Smith's decision to join the Scouting Legion. No doubt Mike would join too, his friendship with Erwin ran deep, there had already been enough gossip about the tall blond replacing Nile as Erwin's best friend. The three were always switching between being ranked number one to number three in class.

Levi honestly didn't care, but he was annoyed that after getting ranked tenth in class it turned out it wasn't necessary. Hange, another top ten, was often disappointed at Levi's lack of effort to go any higher. Originally Levi wouldn't have cared, he was supposed to be here for a mission, one simple mission that was proving harder and harder: kill Erwin Smith.

Make it look like an accident, he'd been ordered, make it so that there will be no investigation or suspicion of foul play. Trainees died all the time, the mission should have been easy, but Erwin _was_ that good, and had good friends, and had helped the scowling runt of the class find good in himself. For that alone Levi hated Erwin, and hated himself more for slowly growing to respect the other teen.

He'd gotten into top ten so that if Erwin joined the military police, as Levi had thought he would, at least Levi could follow and either kill him or befriend him. Had he known Erwin was a suicidal idiot, Levi would have just sabotaged his 3D gear on Day One and been on his merry way.

"Well, someone has enough time to be scowling instead of doing work like they're _supposed_ to," a voice drawled. Levi didn't blink.

"You're nursing a disgusting hangover, hardly any real work, Oluo."

"You're just upset I didn't give you any."

"You're an idiot, graduation is tomorrow and you thought it a good idea to drink."

"I told him, the instructors will eventually catch him," from behind Oluo another boy appeared, Gunther. He was accompanied by Erd, the other boy openly scowling at how Oluo seemed to squinting his eyes and cradling his head. "There's still maintenance work to be done, Stohess won't handle itself."

"Are we cleaning cannons again? That's Garrison Guard work," Oluo groaned.

"And where you'll be heading, as despite your bragging you didn't make top ten."

"I'll join the Scouting Legion, if it means I won't have to clean another cannon."

"Your Erwin fanboy tendencies are showing."

"What does he have to do with my decision to…?"

"Guys!" A new voice interrupted the boys and Levi, who had been about to leave the bickering, paused as a girl stepped forward. Petra was a good soldier and, dare he even say, a good friend. She had not been intimidated by his harsh words and dark looks when they first met, and he'd grown to grudgingly respect her. "Have you seen any of the instructors?"

"Still a teacher's pet," Oluo muttered, both Levi and Petra ignored him.

"I haven't, is something wrong?"

"Apparently we're being told to stay away from the eastern part of Wall Sina. No one is identifying themselves, but it looks like the military had the whole street secretly evacuated and quarantined. No one is allowed in, they refused to let me go forward even when I tried explaining I was only there to check the cannons."

"I haven't heard of any exercise or event today," Gunther frowned.

"You say they refused to identify themselves?" Erd repeated. "What if they're not military?"

"Civilians don't exactly know how to use 3D gear, let alone use them properly."

"3D gear being used in Wall Sina? What are they thinking? What's going on?"

That was when there was a thunderous crack, followed by a column of light and an inhumane roar.

Later afterwards, Levi alternated between remembering nothing and remembering with sharp clarity.

He remembered the shock and terror as he saw the titan rose to her feet, towering over all the buildings. He remembered never hearing of a female titan before, remembered the horror of seeing one behind Wall Sina of all places, he remembered how everyone froze in stunned disbelief, he remembered when the screams and panic started.

He can't remember if he was ordered to move, or if he was acting on instinct. He remembered ordering the civilians to stop running in all directions and follow proper evacuation procedures. He can't recall how he managed to get the other trainees to cooperate with him, if they were ordered to as well or if they willingly followed his lead. He remembered how they panicked again when with another roar, another titan appeared, another 15m gargantuan monster.

Levi's not suicidal, Petra already told him there were military personnel in the area, he would have been content to let the experienced veterans handle the two titans while they focused on getting as many civilians out of the way as possible. That was what should have happened, instead while Levi doesn't remember why he started moving away from his area – to help evacuate more civilians? Because there were orders? – he did recall seeing the so-called experienced soldiers standing frozen in shock, and others shaking so much they couldn't use their gear properly. Disgusted, Levi had moved on, and the other trainees moved with him, along with the titans.

"Levi! Watch out!"

The short teen pulled back as the female titan suddenly went crashing into the building they were about to land on. Oluo went flying past and straight towards the titan's face, he couldn't stop, and he was screaming as he became aware of his fatal mistake…

Levi dashed forward, despite Erd yelling he was too late, propelling himself into the air. He managed to launch another cable towards Oluo and yanked, jerking the other boy back. The force might cause some damage, but at least Oluo was alive. The two tumbled to another rooftop, Levi on his feet, Oluo on his hands and knees. The arrogant boy smelled like he wet himself.

"Thank you, thank you…"

Gunther was rushing forward to check on Oluo, good, Levi didn't know what to say anyways, instead he straightened to look at the threat. Steam was rising into the air, already healing all the female titan's wounds and she was moving up to her feet. There was another roar, and the male titan was running forward, green eyes blazing and howls pouring out from terrible teeth. The titan smashed his fist against the other's face, torso, legs, a berserk attack without any goal but to hurt and maim. The female fought back just as viciously, managing to kick him off, and the titan went flying into another building that crumbled under him.

"This isn't normal titan behaviour," Erd was pale and shaking, watching the two giants fight and causing untold amounts of collateral damage. "Titans don't fight like this, they're driven by bloodlust but for humans, they don't fight like this…"

"They're completely ignoring the humans," Petra watched as a small crowd came running out of another collapsing building, easily within reach of the two titans, who ignored them in favour of beating each other more. "If we get them out fast enough, we can probably minimize causalities!"

"Look out!"

The trainees moved out of the way again as debris went flying into the air, pieces of buildings that couldn't withstand the might of the fighting monsters. A civilian screamed in terror as he was buried under rubble, a child started crying when the mother holding her hand was suddenly crushed under a collapsing rooftop. Not far off a soldier was using his gear to escape, only for wooden beams to rain down on his cables and smash him to the ground.

"What are you kids doing here?" A new voice suddenly shouted, and the teens turned to see a young man landing near them. He had a shaved head and the green cloak of a scout, and unlike his frozen and terrified counterparts in the Garrison and Police units there was a steely glint in his eyes. "Don't tell me they sent you as backup."

"We can fight, sir!" Petra shouted.

"Get back to evacuating the civilians."

"Sir, we will gladly assist with any operation, we're not just some kids!"

"I don't doubt it, I was a trainee myself back in the Battle of Trost, and quite frankly I don't want a repeat of the causalities."

"You…" Gunther had heard of Trost, everyone had, humanity's first victory. He also remembered the statistics, the soldiers and trainees stationed there had been completely wiped out to a handful, and of the few trainees who survived even those in the top ten had chosen the Scouting Legion instead of the Military Police.

Like Erwin was planning.

The bald man in front of him had survived a titan invasion, and lived, only to throw himself outside the walls to them again. There was another thing too, another famous fact that came out after the Battle of Trost…

"Eren Yeager is the titan, isn't he?" Levi had heard of the shifter, the man they called Humanity's Last Hope. "He hasn't shifted behind the walls for years, not since Trost."

"What, you think he'll stay human while another titan is rampaging around?" Connie snorted, "Commander's orders: We're going to try capturing the female titan, that's harder than trying to kill it."

"That's insane!" Gunther couldn't believe his ears, "Which commander…!"

"Yea, like I'll take such orders from any other commander, of course the Scouting Legion's! You can rest assure after everything if he survives there will probably be a proper trial and everything, now go evacuate the citizens!"

The trainees had wanted to obey, for a moment they did, trying to retreat and guide the panicked crowds away from the fight. Instead, the titans ended up crashing nearby and destroying more buildings and lives, before they ended up at a clearing that prevented the other scouts from interfering in the match. The fight was vicious and brutal, limbs were torn off and skin was ripped, and still the two titans fought without pause.

Watching the fight, paralyzed like never before, Oluo let out a soft whimper, "This…is what titans are capable of."

"We'll never survive," Gunther choked, "How can we…how can any human…hope to fight such monsters?"

"They'll step on us like ants," there were tears in Petra's eyes as she saw the bodies scattered below them on the ground. Some had died not even knowing what had happened, those were the lucky ones, many other corpses wore expressions of terror.

The terrified expressions were plastered all over the faces of the living as well, as Erwin swung from one building to another he saw several soldiers having a face off. Police Brigade and Scouting Legion, the police were pointing guns towards the green cloaked individuals, were they seriously fighting between each other now when there were titans on the loose? He swung forward, ready to speak up even against his superiors, and noticed that the brigade were mostly pointing their rifles to a blond man wearing the green cloak.

"Arlet! Was this your plan?!"

"I'll admit I was hoping that the destruction would be minimized," the blond did not back down, "But despite that, I was willing to go through with it."

"What were you thinking? All this…this destruction, all those lives lost…you allowed for this to happen?!"

"I told you that there was a shifter in our ranks, Feulner, this only proves it."

"You…you didn't offer any…!"

"Proof? If I had any, don't you think I would have planned an operation instead of a gamble? Don't be ridiculous, Boris, I made the best with what I had, I gambled, and I won."

"Damnit," The military police dealt with human crime, not monstrous titans, Boris could see his men were terrified and would just as likely shoot everywhere near the titans and miss. The scouts on the other hand looked calm and composed, just another day with titans, despite the potential causalities Armin clearly had no problems mixing the giants with civilians. "Is this all just a game to you? Another chess game? This is countless lives we're talking about, after what you've done, no one would blame me for executing you right on this spot!"

"Armin," a woman in the scout uniform tensed, hands on her gear. The blond raised a hand, stopping her from taking any action.

"Stand down, Mikasa, we don't need another fight here." By now Erwin could identify Commander Armin Arlet and Mikasa Ackerman, for scouts the two were remarkably well known names even in the public. Being commander would of course grant Armin some publicity, and Mikasa was famous for being a one-woman army. "This day will be one full of death, no need to further add to those numbers. I will gladly give up without a fight, but that would mean that someone else has to take command. My scouts may or may not be willing to obey the commands of the police, especially if they have me arrested or killed…"

"You…" Boris already knew what Armin was doing, the blond wasn't smug or smirking but he might as well be.

"Mikasa, you or Jean will take over if I am out of action. Whether you take orders from the police, whether you can even convince the rest of the scouts to obey, is something I leave to you."

"You can't just disregard…"

"These inner wall types haven't trained against titans before, they'll be good with their rifles and dealing with citizens, but they probably won't know the techniques we've practiced. Likely they won't understand our jargon and can't cooperate in our teamwork so we'll have to leave them out of any operations. You'll probably have to make your own orders anyways and hopefully it won't weaken any of the police formations."

"Armin, you manipulative bastard," Boris snarled. "You just won't be arrested, you always have to win, don't you? You can't win at everything!"

"I know that," Armin's response was frost. "I know I can't always be a winner, but I know I can't afford to be the loser either. No one likes losing, not me, and not Annie. In case you've forgotten, Boris, Annie trained with me when we were cadets. She would always win in our matches, but this time, I have to do everything I can to make sure she doesn't win."

From a distance twin roars echoed, drowning the sound of screams and rumbling buildings. Armin's eyes moved from the military police towards Erwin's direction, "Cadets, do you have news?"

_Cadets_? Surprised, Erwin glanced over his shoulder and saw Hange behind him, since when had she been following him? Hange was trembling, but her eyes burned, and she was first to salute as all the veteran soldiers turned to regard the newcomers.

"The casualties are staggering, sirs, but we've managed to get most of the civilians out. Sasha Blouse sends a message: Kirstein's team managed to trap the titan earlier but the titan was able to escape and destroy the traps. Four causalities on their team, a few MIA. Now the titans are staying in the clearing, but the destruction and ripped titan limbs flying everywhere are escalating the situation and trapping some of the remaining civilians, sirs."

"That means the whole thing now hinges on Eren's ability to fight Annie, something he hesitated to do."

"That titan is not Annie!"

"Boris, I know you were fond of her, I was too, but I set the trap myself," Armin was turning away, already disregarding the threat of the rifles. "It's Annie, she killed my soldiers and we're going to hear what her intentions are. You can help humanity win, and if you don't…than the least you can do is help some of the trapped civilians escape."

"Sirs! Incoming!" Erwin suddenly yelled, and the streets shook as the female titan suddenly started running. Away from the fight, towards the walls, Armin's eyes narrowed.

"Don't let her escape! Mikasa!"

"On it," Mikasa and another contingent of soldiers were launching cables and flying into the air. Other scouts, taking advantage of the fact that the female titan was now away from the clearing and among tall buildings again, tried to slow her down. Almost like swatting at annoying flies, the female titan tossed several of them into the air and slammed others against the buildings. Blood ran, so did she, but the scouts continued their pursuit and so did Eren.

This, Erwin thought, was what humanity was up against.

He could see his fellow trainees among the scattered corpses, including one guy who had been in the top ten; yet now, as he wordlessly joined Hange in following the Scouting Commander towards the titan, he saw several other trainees also hot in pursuit. Levi Ackerman handled his 3D gear flawlessly, and he was followed closely be several other trainees that Erwin had seen but never spoken to.

He promised himself that if they all survived this, if they managed to escape this with their lives, he would do so.

Some of the veteran scouts managed to land a few hits, but the titan still managed to reach the wall. She began to climb, despite Eren's attempts at stopping her, and would probably have escaped if not for Mikasa. Despite shouting and pleading from the other scouts, the woman flew forward towards the fight. She didn't hesitate in cutting off the fingers of the female titan, and even landed on the titan's head to ensure a fall.

And fall the titan did.

Eren gave her another beating, both of them howling in rage and pain, but soon it was clear who the victor was. In front of Erwin's eyes, Humanity's Last Hope bent down and ripped the flesh off the neck of his opponent, revealing a blond woman inside. Erwin was too far away to be sure, but he saw the military unicorn crest on the jacket the woman was wearing, and the tears she now shed. The male titan seemed to pause.

"What is he waiting for?" Hange hissed, "Kill her already! She killed so many people already, just kill her!"

Erwin glanced at her, surprised at the vehement hate in her eyes when normally he knew Hange was the type to get curious about their enemy. Whenever they had classes about titans, and it became clear just how little they knew, Hange always swore to be the one who would make breakthrough discoveries. Now, no doubt after witnessing so many dead and so many of them being their own classmates, Hange wanted vengeance.

Hange will not get the chance, it seemed like none of them would, for suddenly there was light flashing and a rushing sound. Eren let out another roar as the female titan suddenly began to grow crystals, hardening flesh and encasing the blond woman inside. There was confused and concerned shouting all around them, but Erwin didn't remember what they were saying. He just knew, watching crystal greedily wrap themselves into the titans' skin, that he was witnessing another vital piece of the war between humans and those outside the walls who wished them harm.

This woman, the one he heard the commanders call Annie, had posed as a friend of humanity. Based on how the commanders had addressed her they had known her personally, but according to Armin she had actually killed the very soldiers she may have trained with. This was not another Eren Yeager, another weapon the humans could use to win the war, this was a weapon meant to destroy humans, and only failed to because Armin had somehow figured out her identity.

With those thoughts in mind, Erwin's reaction was slowed, and it took longer for him to realize that the crystal was spreading and likely to imprison not just the blond woman but Eren as well. Before he could move, there was another shape flying towards the nape of the male titan's neck. With swift strikes the human Eren was cut out by a tall woman wearing the green Scouting Legion cloak, her brown hair flying and her freckled face set in a fierce scowl.

"I swear, if Christa didn't care for you so much…"

"Ymir! Get yourself and Eren out of there!"

The scout, Ymir, was already flying backwards from the bodies of the titans. Already it was steaming, dissolving into mere bones. Ymir landed on the ground, almost carelessly dropping Eren's unconscious body, but Mikasa had already appeared by his side. She cradled Eren protectively, the relief on her face obvious.

"Two titans did this," Mike's voice was suddenly beside Erwin and Hange, both of them just managed not to jump. The teen wasn't even looking at them, sniffing and staring grimly at what had become of their surroundings. "Two titans, not even focused on hunting humans, did this. There are hundreds in Wall Rose and perhaps thousands outside, we were lucky we managed to stop them at Trost."

Hange understood, "Those who join the Scouting Legion, journeying outside the walls, will see titans again. We won't always have Eren Yeager with us, we will face titans who are more intent on eating humans, not fighting each other."

Erwin said nothing.

The rest of the day passed in a blur, a stressful and surreal blur. The trainees were mobilized to help cleanup the city, clearing debris, helping the injured and worse of all, counting the dead. The numbers continued to rise, as people died due to injuries and infections, while others died when buildings, weakened in the aftermath of the fight, suddenly collapsed. In some ways it was a good thing they were in Wall Sina, and aid from the king arrived relatively quickly.

Graduation was postponed as the cadets worked on getting the city back on its feet. They seamlessly blended in with the surviving military members, who had also taken heavily losses. Many ranked officials had perished in the fight, and so some soldiers found themselves suddenly thrown into leadership, many of them weren't ready.

"I studied evacuation procedures, I never had to practice, how can I…"

"I survived Trost," one of the scouts offered, "Squad Leader Reiner Braun, here, I'll help you. What you need to look out for after an attack like this…"

The scouts, their small numbers had been further reduced and their commander had been summoned to trial, yet they all took command easily. Hange, who had witnessed the Garrison and Police troops paralyzed in terror, lashed out when they tried to give her orders, accusing them of cowardice. The men, already jittery, threatened to discipline her and she practically dared them to try, only stopping when another scout appeared.

"Hange Zoe, if you don't want to help distribute food then help us with the medicine."

Hange's tensed shoulders dropped, "Yes, madam…"

"Call me Sasha, you did well earlier. I should warn you that distributing medicine means you'll be seeing the wounded and dying, you sure you want to…"

"Yes, I do, sorry for interrupting ma'am."

"Eh, the Scouting Legion doesn't stand on formalities so much."

Indeed, the scouts were handling the situation the best. Nile found the bodies of several classmates in a heap on the ground, and nearly broke down, only for a passing scout to comfort him. He found out she was a squad leader, Christa Lenz.

"How…does it get easier? I saw so many bodies, and so many with green cloaks, they were your soldiers, your teammates…"

"It doesn't get easier," Christa was a small woman, at another time Nile would have looked at her pretty face and appreciated the aesthetic beauty, "But you learn that for every soldier who dies, you must live on, if only to carry their memory. You and I have the unfortunate fate of learning this early, I was part of the training corps for the Battle of Trost."

Nile choked, "You were my age, when those titans came through the walls?"

"I witnessed real titan behaviour," Christa answered. "I saw my own teammates, people I was talking with just seconds ago, laughing and discussing where we would go after graduation, get eaten. I saw titans playing with their food, ripping bodies apart before chewing them and swallowing. I saw one titan overwhelm several soldiers, I saw mangled bodies gracelessly disposed of just so we could get rid of the dead faster. I thought I'll never want to see it again, but Eren, he had already convinced many of us to go fight."

"Why?" Nile tried to understand, "Why, after seeing that horror, would you want to go out again and fight them?"

"So that others will not have to," Christa answered. "It's not for everyone, the Scouting Legion is made up of so many orphans and lone wolves, in my generation there was a time we were also addressed as the military nuthouse, but we are also dreamers. We dream of going outside, of a future outside the walls, of a day when humans can step outside without fear once more. Armin used to tell us…" She broke off, and ended up sending Nile away while she headed back to rejoin her team.

Later, Nile found fellow trainee Dennis Eibringer, who had been acting as messenger between the different military divisions. Now on break, Dennis was sitting at a table outside an undamaged inn, surrounded by the trainees who had managed to join him. No one said anything about their small number, hoping that the missing trainees were just busy and not among the dead.

"They have Commander Arlet arrested and under guard, so is Yeager but he's unconscious so he's not a threat yet. They've locked him underground, Ackerman is watching him with some other guards but the guards are watching her too. Honestly she shouldn't be there, but the rest of the scouts apparently loudly declared that if Armin isn't there to calm the shifter down than Mikasa is the next best thing."

"Considering they've probably had more experience with him shifting they're probably telling the truth, and one of the squad leaders had known Yeager since Trost," Nile recalled. Dennis snorted.

"One? Try four: Kirstein, Lenz, Braun, they were all in Arlet's class. You can say they were all involved; Yeager and Ackerman, a couple of the regular scouts, they were all together in the same training class in Trost."

Gunther nodded, "That soldier who ordered us away from the fight, I heard he was Connie Springer, he fought in Trost as well."

"I did hear that story," it was not surprising, Moblit could be just as curious as Hange was, and prided himself in picking up trivia and details many would miss. "The survivors of the 104th cadet corps, apparently they've taken over the legion, half of them took leadership positions and the others are just as competent as Yeager in his human form."

"So that's what the messages referring to 1-0-4 meant, well get this, the scouts and their commander weren't the only ones in that class, so was the female titan."

Erd cursed, "I was almost hoping my eyes were wrong, so that titan really was a shifter after all?"

"Yea, she was a top ten who went to the Military Police Brigade. They don't know her intentions, but she definitely killed some people and isn't on our side. There's accusations flying now, the scouts are being criticized for not recognizing another shifter, and they're accusing the police of not being careful enough to let her run away doing whatever she's been up to. Some even claim the blame were solely on the commanders, apparently Feulner and Arlet were friendly with her."

"I've always thought her too cold for that, but I guess I seriously underestimated her vixen charms," a new voice suddenly chirped. The trainees all leapt to their feet and saluted.

"Madam!"

"Wow, I never get used to how eager you trainees could be," the woman giggled. Levi felt his eyebrow tick, he recognized the newcomer as Hitch, a ranked officer in the military police. She had a habit of taunting everyone and treating everything carelessly, but Levi had seen her talk her way out of trouble and make allies with people on both sides of the law. He was probably the only one among the trainees who recognized the tall man standing silently beside her. "You shouldn't talk about Annie like that, haven't you heard the stories of how attached the old 104th were to each other? Why would you talk about her in front of her old comrades?"

"One's here?" Dennis blanched, he hadn't exactly been ordered to keep the message contents quiet but he knew he shouldn't be spreading out the information so eagerly. He knew Hitch wasn't the type to care, but others probably would. As it was, Hitch simply pointed to a table not far from their own.

"Hey Jean, you're not normally the type to let talk about you slide past unacknowledged."

"Jean Kirstein?" Mike was already sniffing the air, Levi resisted making any comments. The man alone at his table had his back towards them and was dressed in civilian clothing, he didn't turn around.

"I don't need to say anything, everything they've said so far is public record, anyone curious could easily find the information."

This time, it was the man beside Hitch who answered, as he let out a deep chuckle. "Oh Jean, you of all people should know records are too easily tampered with."

Jean froze, before slowly turning around. The trainees watched him curiously but he ignored them, staring at the man who had accompanied Hitch. The man was tall, with broad shoulders and long legs, a freckled face that would have been handsome if not for the faded scars that disappeared behind a black eye patch. There was a glimpse of similar scars peeking out from the man's wrist, as the man wore a matching black glove. "M-Marco?"

Levi watched the interaction with narrowed eyes, Hitch noticed, and she probably knew that he knew the supposedly handicapped man. Not breaking her smile, she commanded, "Cadets! Break time is over, I've been sent to find all of you and send you all back to work."

She ushered all of them out, but didn't seem to notice or care that Levi stayed behind. Perhaps she saw no reason to hide her association with the worse-kept secret of the Sina underworld from someone who once belonged there. Levi may not know the boy Marco Bodt but he would know Marco Bott, one of the biggest names in Wall Sina's criminal elements.

Of course the scouts, so often outside at Wall Rose or even outside the walls, wouldn't know. Jean stared at Marco like he had seen a ghost, "How…you died, you died _again_, how are you…you and Hitch…"

"Hitch is a refreshing breeze compared to some of the people in the military, very helpful woman." Marco sauntered over to Jean, although he required the use of an elegant black cane he somehow managed to make it look graceful, as if the cane was a weapon he wielded and not something to depend on. "Not that Armin wasn't helpful, he was, but that conniving liar made me promise to stay away from you. Really, between Annie telling you I died when we were trainees and Armin telling you I died when you were team leader, no wonder people thought those two had something going on."

"You and Armin were friends, why would he claim you died…?"

"Is that what he said? Armin was a good friend but he is a better commander, pragmatic, ruthless, and can be highly possessive of his assets. I believe his words to me were along the lines of _Jean is an excellent soldier and capable of becoming commander, he is far too valuable to the human race to waste his life behind your pretty words and beautiful rooms_. He said a bunch of other things too, somehow persuaded me to leave you alone."

Marco stood a little bit too close, his sultry voice sounded a little too affectionate, and the hand that rested on Jean's shoulder definitely looked a bit too possessive. Levi wondered how the scout remained still, if someone had looked at him that way Levi was sure he would have started running or punched the guy already.

Jean might be thinking something similar, he pushed the hand off him and stood, eyes blazing. "So Armin managed to convince you to leave, I'm guessing he provided you entry into Sina? I mourned for you _again_, and now here you are. What changed your mind? That I was here in Sina? That Armin is now under arrest?"

"That there was a titan behind these walls, I had to make sure you were fine," Marco's answer was carefully positioned to calm Jean's temper. The hand, the unscarred one bare of any glove, was back on Jean's shoulder, pulling the shorter man back from any resistance, back to _him_.

The touch made Jean's skin crawl, "I can't do this, not again, please don't…"

"Don't what? Look out for you? Take care of you?"

"Don't make me choose again," Jean desperately wanted to move, but Marco always had a way of imprisoning him still. "You've changed since our cadet days, but you haven't changed since last I saw you. You've hurt so many people, destroyed so many others…"

"None of which were our mutual acquaintances, and quite frankly deserving."

"That's not the point, and now here you are, expanding your reach into Wall Sina…"

"Perhaps if you're by my side, I'll stop." When Jean looked at him disbelievingly, Marco pulled him closer, "I let Armin convince me to leave you alone, a terrible mistake, but the titan rampage cleared my mind. I won't abandon you again."

Marco Bott was one of those criminals who got their way through honey words and sweet promises. Despite that he did not seem to have any amorous habits, the rest of the underworld had assumed it was because of the man's physical defects. Yet watching him now, Levi didn't think Marco was insecure, the man looked like he was ready to lay claim on the distraught scout.

Except that was when someone loudly cleared their throat.

Another man had approached their table, one dressed in police brigade uniform. He was dark haired like Marco, with a similar built, but his eyes looked on the verge of a volcanic explosion while a look of glacial disdain passed over Marco's face.

"Marlowe Fredenberg…"

"_Lieutenant_ Fredenberg," the soldier snapped. Levi recognized him, back in his criminal days Fredenberg was known as one of the few officials who could not be bribed to look the other way. He'd tried to arrest Marco several times already, but never succeeded. "I've been asked to escort Jean Kirstein back to the courthouse."

"I thought I wasn't allowed in," Jean was drawing back from Marco's touch, Levi saw the flicker of anger in Marco's single eye. That eye moved from Marlowe to Jean to the street, where Levi noticed a thin man wearing the green cloak waited. The scout noticed Marco watching him and seemed to break out in a nervous sweat.

"Looks like Armin wanted to make sure we don't get to stay together," Marco sneered. Jean's eyes narrowed.

"You're the one took up Armin's offer, and now you're trying to alienate me from my commander?"

"Isn't it convenient that Bertolt, one of the most apathetic scouts who knew about my existence but didn't care to resist when Armin ordered his silence, the one who is sent out to find you? Nervous Bertolt would never go anywhere without Reiner, if he's alone now it's probably because someone ordered them apart. There's also our dear lieutenant here, who happen to be one of those who would do anything to see me behind bars."

"I still would," Marlowe added, "One of those days, I'll arrest you."

"Lucky me that you're intent on doing it honourably and following protocols, but then again, you know all bets are off if you try to bring less legitimate methods into our playing field." Marco smiled, "But I'm tired of hiding in the shadows of Wall Sina, and with the scouts all here they'll hear your reports. Sooner or later they'll figure out who I am, whether Armin likes that or not. How advantageous for me, that he's stuck in Stohess for the next while."

"I don't know what you're talking about, but we're leaving," Marlowe gestured to Jean, who had little choice but to obey, whether it was his commander or the courthouse summoning him it wasn't an order he could refuse. Bertolt didn't dare meet any of their eyes, already turning to move away.

Once the soldiers were gone, Marco turned and focused on the remaining observer, "Levi Ackerman?"

Levi tensed, he wasn't arrogant, he knew he had some infamy in Sina's criminal circles but he was small fry compared to players like Marco. That the man recognized him was a surprise, but it wasn't hard to identify Levi, his short statue had been an identifying trait for anyone who knew of him.

"Relax, kid, I'm not interested in ruining your mission, you seem too invested in it already."

Levi kept his expression blank, "What do you mean?"

Marco chuckled, "I know there was a hit placed on that nobleman trainee, Erwin Smith, the implications of your presence seemed to have confirmed it. Yet I am curious, are you hired to kill him, or to protect him?"

Levi said nothing, unless there was an alliance involved only the most arrogant or stupid would admit their intentions to another well known criminal. Marco however, was as perspective as the rumours claimed he was. "Ah, you don't know either, do you?"

"What about you?" Levi challenged, "Are you planning to protect that squad leader by ruining him?"

"_Ruining_ him?" Marco laughed, another deep throated laugh that sent chills down Levi's spine. "I am the last person who wishes to harm him, if anything, it will be the Scouting Legion that ruins him. Jean is soft hearted and a humanist, but his current commander is, putting it lightly, _very_ pragmatic. I've always found it convenient, that our reunion was right at a time when the previous commander would have considered passing the mantle to him."

A second chill went through Levi's blood, "Jean Kirstein would have been the Commander of the Scouting Legion?"

"He always had the potential to be leader, but a few days before his succession we ran into each other. Admittedly he caught me at a time when I was dealing with some less savoury business," Marco grinned at his fellow criminal, as if sharing a private joke. "It caused some tension, but he didn't abandon me. Unfortunately more bad luck, some of which I now believed were orchestrated, destroyed his confidence and he ended up passing over the promotion."

Levi thought back of the glimpse he had seen of the current commander, the blond with glittering blue eyes. He remembered how Dennis had described how cold and unapologetic Armin Arlet had been, even when confronted with the death tolls and destruction. Erwin had marvelled at how, despite all that, the surviving scouts had continued to back their leader instead of turning away in disgust. Jean himself had defended Armin when Marco tried to alienate him.

"Why are you telling me this?" The younger asked.

Marco smiled, with his head slightly tilted the scars were no longer visible, and even the eye patch could not ruin the man's handsome features. He was a charismatic criminal, Levi had heard of at least one arrest that had failed because Marco was able to charm the witnesses and his persecutors. No wonder Marlowe hated him, no wonder Hitch seemed to like him.

"Consider it as warning advice, especially if you intend to follow Smith past graduation, I heard he's planning to join the scouts."

_Have an idea/suggestion? Send me a review and let me know! _


End file.
